Looking to narrow my focus, want opinions!

After not playing any fighting games for a while, I decided that it was time to get back into the scene. I don't really have the time to spread myself across 3-4 different games, so I was looking for some input on which game I should dedicate my time to in order to be semi-competitive. There are a few things I'm looking for:
1. Good netcode
2. Strong online AND offline community
3. Fairly balanced
Requirement #1 pretty much rules out most Capcom games, and I've never been a big Tekken or KoF fan, so I figure that leaves me with about 6 major options: MK9, SCV, BB:CSE, Skullgirls, P4A, and the upcoming GGAC online port. I might get into a couple of these, but there's no way I can do all 6. Could the SRK community give me a brief rundown as to how these games stack up against my requirements? Thanks in advance!

Comments

Personally, I don't play 3D fighters. So I can't help too much there. However, I can give my two cents on the other 4.

I don't really see much of an offline scene for BB, and therefore don't play it. But that alone may rule out that game for you.

Skullgirls is still active, and I've had nothing but great experience online. It feels, however, much more like a backburner game. Kind of makes me feel like it might die off in time. But that could just be the Arizona FGC.

Persona 4 Arena has done great here. There are a couple of issues with the online play here and there, but overall is pretty smooth. Plenty of players online and offline. And in my opinion, is one of the most balanced fighters right now. Others will argue that there are 3 god tier characters, but I have no issue with those 3. And I play almost every character on the roster.

And as for GG.. it still feels too early to decide whether or not it's going to be big. It definitely looks like it will, especially with those of us who played it in it's time. The netcode.. worse than persona, but it's definitely manageable. I get maybe 1 in 10 matches that are laggy. It's also an incredibly balanced game.

So to be 100% safe on the best option, I would go with persona. It's doing great, people love to watch it, and there's tons of players. It's my second to main game, with GG being my first. The only reason I wouldn't say GG for sure is because, like I said, it's still a bit early to see if it's going to be a heavily played game.

I recommend P4A. I live in the Midwest and have played people in Japan with minimal lag. The offline community is not as strong as capcom games or tekken, but it has a dedicated following. Also, the game exceeded sales expectations and boosted sales of persona 4 golden in Japan, so it is very likely a new and young franchise.

Thanks for the info! I just ordered BBCSE from Newegg, so I'm hoping there's still a bit of community there. Worst case scenario, some 8-9 new characters since CT should make it interesting for a while (and let's be honest, I've spent $17 on worse things). I definitely plan to play GG as well; again, not much money lost if things fizzle out.

While I love the design choices and hard work that went into Skullgirls, I agree that it seems like more of a backburner thing. I would love to see it stick around, but I think I'll hold off on investing any real time into it until I know for sure.

I've never played a Persona game, though that doesn't seem to be a requirement for P4A. I was a little off-put by it because I was afraid it was just riding a hype train (and I didn't want to pay $50-$60 for it), but if it looks like it's going to be around long-term, then I may bite.

As far as my offline community goes, the KY FGC seems to be quite a bit more active on Dustloop, so I don't think I could really go wrong with any of those 4 games. For online, you say that GG is slightly more laggy than P4A. I was assuming they both used GGPO, is that not the case?

I'm not 100% sure what GG is using as far as its netcode, but it's more of how the game was made. Back in the days of GG, there was no online scene. The game was made very tight and strict. Newer games, however, are made with much more input leniency to make up for any normal amount if lag found in online play. So even if they happen to run on the same netcode, GG is naturally gonna be a lot easier to drop combos and have the lag actually affect you than P4A.

And keep in mind the lag we're speaking of is input lag. I very rarely ever see framerate drops on either game.